


tis the damn season

by mariiposie



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-15
Updated: 2021-02-15
Packaged: 2021-03-16 05:35:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,755
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29448621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mariiposie/pseuds/mariiposie
Summary: "i think you know why i texted you, ricky."
Relationships: Ricky Bowen/Gina Porter
Kudos: 31





	tis the damn season

It’s Friday when she texts him.

It’s the first time in a long time.

Gina’s been back in Salt Lake City for less than two hours now. It’s dark, and night has already begun to fall.

Sepia lights dance under streetlights planted over quiet roads. Every so often, a car will drive past her, its headlights full, and they illuminate the surroundings that _should_ be so familiar to her.

But this city feels lived in by someone else. By a different Gina. A different version of herself. She wasn’t that person anymore.

Her face brightens when she opens her phone. Straight away, her finger moves to his contact name. “Bowen.”

She presses down on it.

And, for the first time in a long time, she texts him.

* * *

_”Hey._

_“This probably seems really out of the blue, and I’m probably the last person you want to talk to right now._

_“But I’m back in town._

_“Can I see you?”_

**”Oh.**

**“How long for?”**

_”I leave Monday._

_“I’ll be all yours for the weekend.”_

**”I want to see you too.**

**“I’ve missed you Gi.”**

* * *

It’s Saturday when she sees him again.

Traces of the holiday season still linger over the city. Fairy lights still decorate houses, wreaths still hang lifelessly on front doors. Christmas trees are still visible through people’s windows, bereft of any gifts that had covered the floor around them during the lead up to the big day.

Extravagant displays of the Nativity scene, or of Santa Claus breaking into houses, sit like artwork on front lawns. Front lawns which are now blanketed in sheets of white.

She had left before she got a chance to see the city like this. In this light.

In a way, though, it sits on her chest like a bad perfume. Reminders of bad memories, scenes that remind her of things she’ll never get.

Stability.

Familiarity.

Knowing.

To see the city change and grow with the constant movement of the seasons.

In her memories of this place, she won’t know what it looked like when the trees blossomed in spring, how it looked when their leaves browned and reddened as Autumn months began to pass. She’ll just know how it looked when she was there. For however brief that may have been.

Always less than a year. Never the full cycle.

She spies him from across the coffee shop. Plates clatter, people are talking and moving throughout the room, but her eyes are fixed like tunnel vision upon him.

He’s wearing a denim jacket, that one he has that’s lined with fleece. His skateboard’s tucked into his backpack. 

Even though his face brightens upon seeing her, she can feel it in the air. When he sits down in the chair opposite her, she can feel it. There’s a type of cold between them. Something chilling. A cold that seeks out, and slowly freezes, turning windshields into crystalline structures.

“Hi.” The word is quiet on his lips. As though he can’t believe he’s actually saying it to her. Again. Even after all this time.

“Hi.” She repeats, just as quiet as he had.

“So,”

“So.”

A smile threatens to mark his lips. “I can’t believe you’re actually back.” He looks almost… weary. Like his eyes might be betraying him.

“Yeah, well,” she smiled back, but it feels unnatural on her lips. “Stranger things _have_ happened.”

“Yeah.” He smirks, shaking his head in disbelief. “Like me getting back with Nini.”

Gina leans back in her chair, playing with the handle of the mug in front of her. A strange first thing to say to someone. It sounds like he’s telling himself, more than telling her. “Bowen,” she begins, “If I wanted to know who you were hanging with whilst I was gone I would’ve asked you.”

He smiles back at her, leaning forward on the table like he wants to close the space she opened up between them. “Yeah.” He says, quiet again. “I had a feeling you would say something like that.”

“You did?”

“You seem to be forgetting that I know you of old.”

Gina hums a response, looking down at her hands and playing with one of the rings on her fingers. 

He leans closer, looking up at her. “Like now,” she quirks an eyebrow in response, “You’re doing that smile you do.”

She takes a deep breath. She knew exactly which smile he was referring to. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.” She quips.

“Sure I do. I’ve seen you do it a million times.”

“Oh yeah. Sure you have.”

“I have!” He exclaims. “It’s one of those fake smiles you do, like when you want people to think you’ve got everything under control, but you don’t. I’ve seen you do it before.”

“Is that so?”

“I think it is.” He smiles. Then he leans back in, resting his elbows on the table and leaning into her. “So that just begs the question. Why are you doing that smile?” His voice stills. “Why are you back here, Gi?”

She looks back down at her hands again. Anything to avoid direct eye contact. “What? A girl can’t come and see the views?”

He shakes his head. “That’s not what I --”

She interrupts. “I know what you meant.”

“Then why avoid my question? Why --?” His voice slips. Gina stays silent. But for a moment, she allows her eyes to catch his. “Why did you --?” he begins.

It was like he said. They know each other of old. She knows what he’s going to ask before he says the words.

“I think you know why I texted you, Ricky.”

There’s a beat. A temporary moment of silence. Like the calm in the storm. Somewhere to Gina’s left, a plate and a mug clatter on a countertop.

“I do.” He says. And again, he says it so quietly, like it’s meant for nobody but her. “And you said you leave Monday?”

She nods.

Ricky runs a hand across his face. “I still… I just can’t believe you’re actually back.”

“Bowen,” she’s so quiet. If they weren’t so close, she knows for certain that he wouldn’t have heard her. “You’ve already said that.”

He shakes his head again, running a hand over the back of his neck. “I know. I’m just… trying to get my head around it, you know?

“I mean -- three days is nothing, Gi. There’s so much we need to catch up on, there’s so much I need to tell you. There’s so much you need to say. Three days. That’s so fleeting. It’s like you’re being waved right in front of my face, but you’re still out of reach.”

“Tell me about it.” She laughs. “But it’s still three days. If it’s all the same to you… it’s _enough_ time. We’re always going to be wanting more time but it’s just --”

“It’s time that doesn’t exist.” He finishes for her.

She nods slowly. “If it’s okay with you?”

He smiles. It’s an earnest one, one that she knows he’s not faking. He lets his hand come forward, to brush a loose curl back behind her ear. “It’s okay with me.”

* * *

“How’s your Dad been?” She asks him later that day.

They’re sat outside his house, sat in his car. That same orange car that they’d spent so many days in before she’d left. “For old times’ sake,” was what he’d said.

That whole day, they’d spent driving around. Going everywhere. Going nowhere.

Talking. Catching up. Ricky had a lot to say about everything. Life had gone on in Salt Lake City. Without her. 

It had thawed. That cold that she’d felt between them earlier. Of course, it had thawed.

He rests his head against the steering wheel. “My Dad? Yeah. He’s good.”

“Still not ‘gotten out there’ yet?” She asks.

Ricky smiles. “Ehh… not quite. Soon though. Maybe.”

Gina hums. “Good for him.”

“Yeah. I don’t know. I’m sure he’ll come around to the idea in time. Maybe he just needs to meet the right person.” There’s a beat of silence. “Hey, look, why don’t you come in and ask him yourself?”

Her lips quirk upwards. “You inviting me in, Bowen?”

He leans back in his seat. “Yes. No. If you want to? You don’t have to --”

“Ricky. Don’t be stupid. Of course I want to come in.”

“Cool cool cool cool cool. Hey, you know what? Dad’s gonna be so excited to see you again,” he says, slowly opening his car door. “He met you, what was it, that one time? When we watched that movie in the living room? And from then on it was all “I like that Gina.” I actually think he likes you more than he likes me. You know, I do think it was the cupcakes you made him that sealed the deal.” He’s mumbling.

“What can I say?” she shrugs. “It’s a Porter family specialty. They do most of the heavy lifting for me.”

“Yeah.” His hands are in his pockets as he leads Gina up the driveway. “You didn’t need the cupcakes at Homecoming though.”

“What do you mean?” She asks. She knows exactly what he means. She just wants to hear it from him.

He slows, and so does she.

It was a night like this, then. Homecoming. Sat in Ricky’s car, their faces had been illuminated only by overhead streetlights and the glow of rapidly moving television screens through windows.

That night changed a lot.

“What is it?” She asks him. He’s still standing just in front of her. Looking at her.

“I just… You’re here.” His voice is drenched in disbelief.

“I am.” She affirms.

“And you leave on Monday. Right?” He sucks in a breath and shuffles uncomfortably on his feet.

“I leave on Monday.” She wraps her arms around her body in the cold. “So if there’s anything you want to say to me before I go, you should probably --”

Ricky’s hands are cold. That’s something about him that she’d gotten used to. They’re still cold, even now, even when they’re resting so gently on her jawline, just below her ears, even when they’re pulling her into him.

The feeling of his lips on hers is a welcome one. Her hand rises and sits on top of Ricky’s as he kisses her once, twice. Three times.

He pulls back for a moment, studying her face. She presses her nose into his. “What about Nini, and --” He kisses her. And then he kisses her again.

Each kiss feels like a first kiss. Like this has always been waiting in the wings for as long as they have known each other. Only now are they getting their chance.

“You leave Monday.” He says. He kisses her then, between each of the words. “No one has to know.” He kisses her again. “What was it you said earlier?”

Gina leans into him. “The part about being yours for the weekend?”

“Yeah.” Another kiss. “That part.”

“Yours.” The word is like a ghost on her lips.

“For a whole weekend?” Another kiss. She smiles into it.

“Sunk in yet?” She asks, her thumb running circles at the base of Ricky’s neck.

“Maybe just once more? You know, just to be sure.” And this time, she kisses him, deeper than she had before. “I know why you texted me, Gi.”

* * *

“It’s so good to see you again!” Mike Bowen pulls Gina into a hug as soon as the two of them walk through the front door.

Her nose twinges with the sudden change in temperature, and Ricky’s nose and cheeks are flushed red. She doesn’t know if it’s _exclusively_ because of the cold, though.

“You know, Ricky hasn’t shut up about you since he got your text yesterday,” Mike says, nodding towards his son, whose cheeks are now twice as red as they just had been. “Not that he ever stopped talking about you in the first place.”

Gina nudges Ricky. “Is that so?” Ricky just stares wide-eyed at his Dad, leaning up against one of the kitchen countertops. “Oh, by the way, I’m sorry I don’t have any cakes for you. Everything from the airport to now has just happened so quickly.” Ricky’s leg knocks into hers beneath the countertop.

Mike smiles. “I’m sure you could _attempt_ to teach it to Ricky. Not that he’d be even half as good at it.” He winks at her.

Ricky shakes his head. “Woooow. Thanks, Dad.”

His Dad shrugs. “It’s true,” he turns to Gina, “I don’t even know what he was trying to bake last night, but he almost burnt the house down.”

Gina looks at Ricky quizzically. “Not my proudest moment.” He reaches down to one of the cupboards by their legs, pulling out a pack of cupcakes wrapped in plastic. “We’re going to have to make do with store-bought.”

“What a gentleman. You know how to treat a girl right.” She teases, taking the platter from him.

“Okay,” he begins, grabbing a couple of other things from the cupboard, and then grabbing a hold of Gina’s hand, “We’re going to make a fort in the living room before you can tell Gina anything else about me that it is _incredibly_ embarrassing and makes her want to book an earlier flight.”

“Like how you used to run around with --” His Dad begins, but Ricky hurries out, Gina not far behind him. “Love you Son!” He sarcastically yells after him.

“Love you too, Dad!” Ricky shouts back, notably less sarcastically.

She sits down first, whilst Ricky heads to the cupboard that sits just beneath the TV. “What do you wanna watch?” He asks, starting to sift through the DVDs.

“You really put a lot of thought into this, huh?” Ricky rocks back on his feet, smiling to himself. She takes that as a yes. Gina hums. “What films have you got?”

He names them as he runs his finger over them. “Bridget Jones, Much Ado About Nothing --”

“The Kenneth Brannagh one, right?”

“Of course.” He continues. “10 Things I Hate About You, Clueless --”

“Do you exclusively watch adaptations of literary classics?” She asks.

“Hey, look, my Dad went through a phase during the… you know. Take it up with the big man.”

Her voice goes quiet. “Did you actually bake cakes for me last night?” She asks.

He sighs. “Well, the answer is not no… an attempt was made.”

“How bad?”

“Gina, I don’t know how you get them so perfect every time. They went rock-hard, and then all of a sudden, the kitchen was smoking and,” he slips a DVD into the side of the TV, “They were awful.”

“Ever heard of a timer?” She jokes. He wraps an arm around her as he joins her on the couch. “What are we watching?”

“The best film ever made.” He quips.

“Dirty Dancing? Again? You know what happened last time.”

“Which part?” He asks her. “The part where you fell asleep on top of me, or the part where we tried to do the lift and failed miserably?”

Gina rolls her eyes. “Obviously not the falling asleep part.” _Because her head on his lap was a surprisingly comfortable way to sleep._ “I genuinely think you cracked one of my ribs.”

“Yeah, well,” he leans his head on her shoulder, “Didn’t cause any lasting damage, did it?”

“If you drop me again, I won’t be the one that needs to worry about lasting damage.”

“See, I understand that you just threatened me, but all I’m hearing is you implying that there will in fact be a second time.” 

She shakes her head. “You’re unbelievable.”

He pulls her closer. “I’m not gonna make the same mistake as I did last time.”

“You said that about the cakes.”

He feigns a gasp. “Okay. I pinkie promise I won’t drop you.”

Gina turns to him and smiles. “And if you do?”

“I won’t.”

Gina hums.

They don’t end up doing the lift that night.

Ricky ends up falling asleep flat on the couch, with Gina sleeping soundly on his chest. They miss the part where Patrick Swayze launches Jennifer Grey into the air.

* * *

It’s Sunday when they find themselves back at the skatepark.

“I guess some things never change.” She remarks, as she lies her head back on his arm.

The skatepark is quiet. It’s always near empty when they’re here. One or two stragglers, but they’re always beginning to head home when Ricky and Gina arrive.

It’s cold. But Gina’s wearing Ricky’s jacket, and he’s spread out a blanket on the concrete. The touch of cold still worms its way through the fibres. He pulls her even closer.

Floodlights cast extended shadows over the bigger ramps, but where they’re sat, near a grassy knoll, the light barely touches.

“I can’t believe you leave tomorrow.” He whispers.

“Me either.” She’s just as quiet.

They’re quiet for a moment. Everything’s seemingly laid bare. Gina leaves tomorrow, goes back to New York, back to school. Back to what she’s going to have to become used to. And Ricky will go back to Nini. Pretend this whole weekend never happened.

“I wish you didn’t have to go.” 

Gina hums a response. Even if she could… she doesn’t know if she would stay. Things burn brighter, burn quicker when you’re on borrowed time. If she were to stay, she’d have to figure out where to stay. They’d have to sort out the Nini situation.

She’s fine here. Now. In the moment. She doesn’t want to have to think about tomorrow.

Ricky rubs her shoulder. “Are you gonna see anyone else from school before you leave?” 

Gina shakes her head. “This may come as a surprise to you, Ricky, but I didn’t really talk to anyone other than you.”

She can hear the smile in his voice when he speaks. “So what you’re saying is… I’m your favourite?”

“You pick and choose what you hear. Besides, it’s like having a favourite dog when you only have one dog.”

“Are you calling me a dog?” 

“I didn’t say that.” She hums.

“It was implied.” He adds.

“Was it though?”

“I think it was.”

There’s another pause of silence. A car buzzes down one of the back roads. Gina’s breaths materialise in front of her face and twirl up into the sky. It’s _that_ cold.

“Don’t you wish it would all just slow down… to a stop?”

“Nothing’s going to slow down Ricky. I leave tomorrow. That’s going to happen.”

He interlocks his fingers with hers. “I know… I just wish it didn’t.” Gina hums, letting her eyes fall shut. “What if you stayed with --”

“Ricky. You don’t have to say anything else. I’m a lot better at goodbyes than you. We’ve already done it once, haven’t we?”

“We’ve still got tonight. And tomorrow morning. And every moment until you leave.” He presses a kiss to her forehead. “If I’d have kissed you in the car at Homecoming, would you have kissed me back?” He asks.

Gina sits up. “Where’s this come from?”

Ricky smiles up at her. “Just thinking.”

“Do you want me to say what you want to hear, or what I actually think?”

Ricky frowns. “Is that a no?”

Gina bites her lip. “Of course I would’ve kissed you back. I thought about it that night. But…” she shifts, “I’m glad you didn’t.”

“Why not?” He asks. It’s a genuine question. It’s a fair question.

“I wouldn’t have come back if you had.” Ricky sits up, and rests his head on her shoulder, waiting for her to speak again. “It would’ve hurt too much. And trust me. It hurt enough as is.”

“What if you’d stayed?”

She looks at him. “I was never going to stay, Ricky.”

* * *

It’s Monday when she leaves.

“So.”

“So.” She repeats, looking over at him.

“This is it.”

“I guess it is.”

They’re at the airport.

They’re at the airport and it's Monday and Gina’s flight is in less than an hour.

It does feel like leaving home. And she doesn’t mean the city.

Her suitcase is in the boot of his car.

“Don’t miss me too much, yeah?”

He rests his cheek against the steering wheel. “I can’t make any promises.”

Her heart wants to reach out. Tell him she’ll be back at some point. She can’t make that promise, because she doesn’t even know if it's true. She’d been gone for a month. Sure, things had moved on, but a month wasn’t long.

This time she’d be gone for six or seven months. Things can change a lot in that amount of time.

Cities have been built in less.

And cities have been destroyed in minutes.

He gets her suitcase out of the boot for her. When she takes it from him, she purposely avoids grabbing it until he puts it down. She doesn’t know how much she’ll manage before she’s convinced that she’s making the wrong decision.

But she’ll go back. To new friends that will never get her like Ricky does.

“You’re doing that smile again. The fake when you do, when you’re trying to hide how you really feel.”

She straightens. “Do I look upset to you?” He says nothing. She’s closing herself off again. She can feel it within herself, she can feel it within Ricky.

She’s shutting herself off again, because if she doesn’t --

The word ‘Wait’ lingers on her lips. She doesn’t know if she wants to say it, or if she wants him to say it to her. To plead with her not to leave. That this weekend meant too much to him.

“I think it’s time.” She says, unstrapping her seatbelt.

“I’m gonna miss you so much.”

“Yeah. I’m gonna miss you too.”

She gets her suitcase out of the boot. She turns to look at him one last time before she enters the airport.

He yells at her from across the road. “Gina!” For a moment, she thinks he’s gonna tell her to stay. Some part of her wishes he would. Instead. “I love you!”

* * *

It’s Monday when she leaves.

Or, rather, is _supposed_ to be leaving. Ricky saw her off at the airport car park.

Except now, and yes he’s fully aware that he’s left it until the last possible minute, he’s running through the crowded airport, running towards her airport gate. Wishing she’d have told him to wait. Wishing he'd told her to stay.

In the car, at the skatepark. Before she’d even left.

He doesn’t know how much time he has before she gets on that plane. 

He’s running.


End file.
